Jericho: Patriots and Tyrants (series finale)

(S02E07) "Yeah, I know." - A Texan diplomat after being shown the bomb.

Since Mayor Douchebag has been gone for so long, I was finally able to be glad to see him. I have been curious what's been going on in the "capital." and seeing those buildings told me more than I wanted to know.

I can't believe the Rangers were still in hiding. I understand that they all have targets on their backs but it should be clear to anyone that their only choice is to fight back. If the military is going to make a big push to take over the town, I don't see how they have an option.

I really liked seeing Eric wrestle with the decision to work with Constantino. He really had no other choice but seeing how difficult it was for him to accept working with the man responsible for his father's death was very powerful. In the end, it wasn't much of a surprise that he made the right decision. The important part was hearing him explain why it was a decision he could never make.

I can't help thinking back to the beginning of this series when characters like Gray and Eric seemed to only exist to make the other characters look good. That has certainly changed this season. Eric has gone from the guy who is cheating on his wife and living in his brother's shadow to a competent and respected leader. It's nice to see that kind of character development on a show with such a large cast.

I don't know how he does it, but Esai Morales is a master at invoking sympathy while still being tough. Every time he gets an order he doesn't agree with, you can see the pain in his face. I thought he was going to break out in tears when he was talking to Heather. The question now isn't whether or not Beck is going to help the town fight back but when.

You'd think that since Hawkins is such a bad ass the writers would have him getting in a tussle every episode. That is why this show is so good. He only kicks ass when he needs to and in tonight's episode, not only was the action a sight to behold but the man on the phone dropped in quite unexpectedly. I haven't seen Xander Berkeley for a while. He is great at playing characters who are good and bad at the same time. I don't know if I'm down with the blond hair, though.

I could swear I heard a faint "Yee Ha" when Jake and Hawkins made it to the Texas embassy. Something about the idea of the state of Texas being the last bastion of freedom in what used to be America makes me dizzy. I'm no historian but I know enough to anticipate that Texas will not join the Cheyenne government until they're sure it's the right thing to do. Lucky for them and the rest of the country, Jake and Hawkins have something to show them.

For the first time in the entire run of this series, I actually felt sorry for Mayor Gray. Watching him walk through what used to be his happy little town reminded me of something Johnston said early on in the series, "Don't break my heart again." It's amazing how this show continues to find new examples of what you actually lose when you lose your freedom.

I know it happens but it really bugged me to see Jamie Hector appear out of nowhere. Seeing an actor from another one of my favorite shows that is now gone seemed like some kind of Ted McGinley-esque joke.

The ending of this episode and the series all happened way too fast. However, any ending for a series this good would come too soon. I don't really have it in me to eulogize the show and I'm sure plenty of you will be more than happy to share your thoughts on its passing, so let me just say it was a great show and I'm grateful that I got to see it.

39 Comments

I guess I don't need my dvr anymore. What am I going to tape, I loved Jericho. I loved Journeyman. It's pretty much if I like the show it goes away. This story is not finished, maybe I will write the rest. Like the Civil war we have to find some good people on the Cheyenne side. Let's not send anymore peanuts. They will sell them for a hefty profit.

I agree, I'm sick of all the reality shows about relationships that aren't even real. And all the Crime Dramas CSI Law and Order...blah blah. Jericho was one of the best shows out there. It had something different to give. I didn't watch the first season on tv. I don't really remember it being advertised very well. But I saw the premiere of the second season, and I was so happy that it was back. Cause I though it look like a good show. But I didn't watch the rest cause I felt like I was missing the whole picture. At that time, I didn't know that the second season would only have seven episodes. I wanted to watch the first season on line so that I would understand everything. And when I did I couldn't understand why it didn't survive a second season. Seven episodes is not a season. I was mad that I didn't support the show in the beginning. But doesn't watching it online count? I also think that the fact that they changed the time srewed it all up. I have to go to school, and I know I'm not the only one. I don't care what's so ever, what network picks this show up as long as it happens soon, and that they treat this show with the respect that it deserves. I don't like hearing people give up on this show. I wasn't one of the "people" that brought it back, but I will be now. They left a good enough ending in the so called second season, that can be a third. The war, Stanley and Mimi, Jake and Hawkins, Gray Anderson, Eric Green and Mary, Dale and Skylar, Jake and Emily and Heather. If they can get them back, I think the show has another chance. I think we can when this. And like others have said, I feel like Jericho is MY town, that these are MY friends, and MY family. That's just how good this show was, and it still is. It has a chance to redeem it's self. (Even though it shouldn't have to.) I love this show, and I'm sorry I didn't give it the support it completely deserved.

Well, not much more to say. Loved the show, definately hoping some avenue picks it up. Glad we got a decent ending, though they had to rush thru the last hour, CBS could have at least given them 2 hours, but they made it work, Jake and Hawkins pulled off a miracle. So glad Beck got on board.

I know there were some weak episodes in season one, but it's a rare series that doesn't have some. These last 7 eps were great, very engrosing & entertaining. Jericho goes down as another quality show gone too soon. As others have said, I hope the networks choke on their reality overload. Survivor is good, Amazing Race is good after that it's just one big sleazefest. Big Brother has turned into just a showcase of human depravity, awful people. Is America really that dumb that they'll watch nothing but crappy reality & game shows? If some network Sci-fi, TNT, whoever picks up Jericho, they will have an instant nice-sized audience.Seems like a win to me.

While it does not mean that we are getting more Jericho, it does tell us that they are still trying to keep it alive. So let's all hope that it happens and contact the SciFi channel (information at the bottom of the article linked) to show our support and to ask them to pick it up.

As far as the "final" episode, while it does give some closure, it is clearly open ended enough for them to pick it up and continue the show.

Someone may still intercept the bomb in Texas, the battle against Jericho and Cheyenne (because of Beck), and other endless possibilities.

For an actual series finale, it was short... they had content for more than 1 hour. But I understand that that's what they had, and I believe they did a good job to try and please the fans, and I am thankful for it.

If you didn't like the show, that is ok... but that doesn't mean that fans of the show can't express and hope for the show to be picked up by another network

Did anyone notice that the african american seargent who told Bonny that they could have another halve hour at the burial was Marlo from The Wire, Ahh the two best series finale's had something in common :-)

i'm surprised so many are saying they're glad they got closure. i mean, i'm glad that it was thought out ahead of time that this was going to be the end of the show, instead of canceling it (x2) after the fact, but this episode really gave me zero closure.

it felt very much like the prelude to another chapter, not a series finale. i know they couldn't wrap everything up w/ this, but i'm just surprised that everyone feels that things were "wrapped up" in some form or another.

As much as I enjoyed Jericho, I'm okay with its cancellation this season. I understand the need for ratings and that some shows, while quality and thought-provoking, don't draw large numbers. The one thing I ask is that if you start the story, you finish the story. I don't care if it takes a two-hour movie or a 7 episode abbreviated season. I just want to walk away with some sense of closure. I'm really glad that CBS listened to the fans and gave us a resolution.

Being from Texas, i definitely liked the fact that Texas was portrayed as the lone holdout in picking sides. Heck, they even brought back the Republic of Texas!